Hope
by Topaz Fireheart Storm
Summary: Edward Finds Bella living on the streets and takes her in. What happens when Irina form the Denali clan can't resist bella's blood...yet again?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**EPOV**

Walking down the street, I heard a far off scream. I quickly located the alley that it resonated from. I peered into the darkness, searching with my sharp eyes for the cause. After a few seconds, I spotted a man holding a girl to the wall. Anger filled me as I walked silently down the alley, watching the man's every move as he touched her and whispered in her ear. Her heart was beating wildly, and her breathing was shallow. As I got closer, I saw that she was in poor clothing. Apparently, she lived on the streets.

"You'll enjoy it, whore." the man whispered, and I growled, low enough that he didn't hear. The girl did, however. Her head snapped in my direction, and she clamped her mouth shut against the gasp that tried to escape. She could sense that my purpose was to help. As I inched closer, she prepared to hit the man if necessary. Good. I thought. She'll at least know how to defend herself if he gets past me. If.

I got close enough to smell the foul scent coming from the man's blood. I wondered how he could have bad blood, but quickly told myself that it was to be expected. Swiftly, I took the man's hands off the girl, and she dropped to her feet, running slowly to the side, out of the way. I held the man so that he couldn't escape, letting him hear the growls coming from deep inside my chest. He whimpered and cowered against the wall as I spoke in a deadly voice.

"Go now and I might spare you. Next time I find this, though, I won't be as kind." I snarled. I let go of his shirt, and he ran off, stumbling the whole way. Once he had turned the corner, I turned to see the petrified girl. "Are you okay?" I asked. She shook her head mutely, and I walked slowly to her, hoping to comfort her.

"Do you want to come with me?" I asked hesitantly. She wouldn't be very safe with my family, but she would be safer than she was here, on the streets. "We can help you. Or do you have someone to go to?" I didn't want to take her from a family; after all, she could just have worn her clothes out.

She shook her head again. "So, do you want to come to my family?" I asked again. She nodded, and walked a little closer to me hesitantly. It was then that her scent hit me. It was intoxicating, and it should have sent me into a frenzy for blood, but it didn't. There was something about her, and her scent, that kept the monster inside deep within its coffin.

**BPOV**

Could I really trust him? I hoped so. I had nowhere to go, so if his family was as horrible to me as that last, no one would worry. No one ever had worried about my well being, as far as I knew. No, I, Isabella Swan, was a troublemaker, and a street rat. No one cared.

Except, maybe my birth parents. I didn't know them; I had been brought up by an old woman and her bastard of a son for the first few years of my life. Then they shipped me off to a family that supposedly wanted a girl, while it was truly a petrified mother on the brink of death, two cruel sons and a sick father. For four years I stayed with them, endured it, until I saw the mother murdered brutally by her son when he came home drunk.

I had had enough sense to run. So, I had planned it out for a month, and then done it. I had run, living off the money I could get singing on the streets. I had made it from California to Oregon before a police officer decided to put me in the foster system. I went to seven people, only staying at each for a couple of weeks, before they found a sweet old woman that wanted to care for me. For a year, she cared for me, but there was coldness in her that hadn't been there when I first met her. Then she started treating me as a slave. So, I ran.

Again, I lived off the money I could make. I had made it to Olympia, Washington, before someone put me in an orphanage. I stayed there until I was sixteen, and then ran from there, too. I made it to Seattle, still singing on the streets, and I was now in Port Angeles. I was seventeen now, and should have just been in my junior year of high school, but I had run from the orphanage during the early summer, and it was now late fall.

I had been walking down the alleyway, hoping that I could find a dry place to sleep without being caught. A feat in itself, I hadn't been successful. I had just turned to go back down the alley when that horrible man had caught me. He obviously liked me for my body, and obviously had a sick mind. I had thought I was done for, until I had seen this pale angel coming toward us.

Something in his eyes had told me that he wasn't there to hurt me, and I had tried not to alert the bastard holding me of his presence.

When I stepped closer to him, my unusually sharp senses caught the sweet scent coming off him. I looked at him and saw that he didn't look human. I instantly trusted him, though. I knew that this wasn't safe, trusting another man. I had been hurt! But I needed somewhere to go, until I could at least find an apartment and means of transportation.

"Follow me." he said, softly, and I realized he was trying not to scare me. I walked beside him, limping slightly. I had tripped earlier—I was quite clumsy—and rolled my ankle. It still hurt rather badly. I let out a gasp of pain as I tripped again, and heard a quiet snap.

I groaned. Just what I needed. I knew exactly what had happened, and so did the man. "Hold still." he instructed, and I knew better than to disobey. I held as still as possible while he inspected it. "It's only fractured, but you can't walk on it like that." he murmured, picking me up with amazing strength. I could feel that his skin was freezing through my thing clothing, but this didn't bother me.

Why didn't anything about him surprise or bother me? It was strange how comfortable I was with him. We reached the city, and it was almost deserted, except for a few rowdy men headed for the bar.

They saw us. Particularly me. I saw them come toward me, and I recognized the look in their eyes. I cringed against the man's chest, and he tightened his hold on me, letting out a growl. The men approached us, and apparently didn't pay attention to the fact that the man was holding me.

"Hey babe, do you want to come with us? Ditch the pale guy!" one said. Apparently, they were already drunk. "Play along." the man holding me whispered in my ear.

"Get away from her!" he told the men. "My sister doesn't need, nor does she like, the likes of you." he roared. They were scared, that much was evident. They scattered, and I took a deep breath.

"Thank you." I whispered, almost inaudibly, but I knew that he could hear it. I didn't exactly know why I knew, but I did.

**EPOV**

If one more man came around with that look in his eyes, hoping for this girl to go with him, I was going to rip his throat out. She was innocent, and it seemed that men in this era didn't much like innocence.

I heard an almost inaudible whisper come from her. "Thank you." she said, and I was surprised. I had thought she was mute. Of course, I had been speaking to her after a very scarring event, and I don't know why I expected to hear her speak.

I nodded, then continued to walk, toward the highway. As soon as I was there, I was going to run. I knew that she would be scared, and wonder how I could run that fast, but explanations would have to come later—for me, at least.

I told her of my plan. "Once we reach the highway, I am going to run. Please, don't be frightened—I'll explain as soon as I can. Right now, you need to worry about your ankle. The sooner we get to my father, the better for you. He's an amazing doctor." I said, hoping that she wouldn't try to run.

She nodded, and another small sound came out of her mouth. "Okay." she said. It surprised me that he voice could be so scared, and yet so confident and sweet at the same time.

I made it to the highway, and could see the forest on both sides. I held the girl tighter, and whispered in her ear. "Close your eyes." she obeyed, squeezing them shut as I began to run as fast as I could with her small frame in my arms.

She gasped and clutched tighter to me, feeling the speed. "It's okay." I told her, and her grip relaxed slightly. She trusted me.

In no time, we had reached the Sol Duc River, near my home. I heard my family's thought bombarding me. Obviously, Alice had a vision.

"Can we help her?" As usual, Carlisle's thoughts were to help others.

"Edward, are you sure I can handle this? I mean, I can smell her from here, even faintly, but…." Jasper didn't want to hurt the family or me.

"This is so cool! Edward, do you know anything about her fashion taste yet?" Alice was a bubble of happiness, as always. I couldn't resist rolling my eyes and answering her in my thoughts.

"Alice, I found her five minutes from being raped. I didn't really get time to ask her what clothes she likes."

"Edward, are you okay?" Esme was our only mother, and she acted like it.

"This'll be fun!" Emmett was his big teddy bear self. I laughed aloud ay his thoughts.

"Edward! I respect your choice to help the poor girl, but if our secret slips out, I will kill you! Obviously, we will have to tell her, since you said she could live with us. That is, if she still wants to live with us after we tell her…." Rosalie was being Rosalie; somewhere between being unbearably self-centered and caring.

"What?" the girl asked quietly. I had forgotten that she would hear me laugh. "I'll explain in a moment." I assured her, and I saw the trust fill her eyes. She really was beautiful. Now I saw why those men had so many lustful thoughts. I shuddered ever so slightly at the memory.

I reached my house, and the door burst open as Alice zoomed toward us. "Alice, calm down a bit!" I cried, hoping to avoid scaring the girl. "Hi!" Alice screamed at the girl, ignoring me. The girl looked a bit startled, but seemed to like Alice. "Hi." she whispered.

"Alice, calm down, and let me get her to the house." I said, and Alice pouted briefly before standing aside to let me inside the door.

I walked into the family room, and set her down carefully on the couch, sitting next to her. My family filed in and took their seats, waiting for either Carlisle or I to speak. Carlisle did, and we listened to our father intently.

"Edward, what happened to her ankle?" he asked. The girl piped up before I could, surprising us all. "I'm really clumsy—I had already rolled my ankle before, and I tripped." she explained, and I stared at her. He voice was even more beautiful than I thought. "Okay." Carlisle said slowly, addressing the girl next. "What is your name?" he asked. The girl winced a bit, then answered. "Isabella Swan, but I like Bella." she said. So that was why she winced; she didn't like her name. She certainly deserved it, though.

"How old are you?" Carlisle's tone was soft but slightly demanding. He didn't want any lies. "Seventeen." Bella answered simply. "Where do you live?" he asked. "On the streets, mostly. I have been to an orphanage, and a lot of other houses, but I have run away from all of them." Bella didn't even look concerned, as if every teenager lived off the streets.

"Do you do any illegal dugs or drink?" It was always a nasty subject, but we had to know. "Heavens, no! What do you take me for, some kind of drug dealer? I've lived on the streets and seen druggies hurt and kill others, and kill themselves. I know better than to get myself into that. And there isn't any way I could ever get any alcohol, seeing as I'm under aged, and then all my money goes toward getting my food and a new set of clothes at least every two weeks. Living off the street isn't easy, but I've done it." Bella had a strong mind and a strong opinion. I could see that she wasn't to be messed with.

Carlisle looked shocked for a split second before composing himself. "Well, I'll introduce you to my family." he said. He pointed out each person as he said their names, and Bella nodded at each.

"I'm Carlisle, this is Esme, my wife, and my sons and daughters, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett and Edward." When he pointed at me, an unidentifiable emotion came into her eyes. Was it fear?

"Jasper, what is she feeling?" I asked. "It's odd; it seems like she trusts you absolutely, but she fears. And I can tell it's not fear of us; there's something different about it." Jasper explained, shooting me a worried look.

"I'm sure you have questions." Carlisle said the Bella, and she nodded. "To get to the point, I can tell you're all not human. What exactly are you?" she asked this in an amazingly calm voice. Carlisle took a deep breath, and looked at us all, then looked at Bella. She stared right into his eyes, without fear, without any emotion at all.

"Isabella," Carlisle started, ignoring her wince, "Our family is a coven of vampires." Everyone waited breathlessly, waiting for Bella to respond. She looked at us without an expression for a moment, before a look of recognition came into her eyes.

"I've seen one of your kind before." she stated, and we all gasped quietly. "But she had red eyes. I know she drank human blood, merely because she gave chase to me. Somehow, I lost her. All of you are different, though; you have golden eyes." she said calmly.

"We drink from animals only." Esme explained. Bella looked unconcerned that we quite literally sucked the life out of animals. She nodded, and looked over the family room. Her eyes stopped on a picture of us in Denali with Tanya and her coven. "The one in the middle." she whispered, pointing to Irina. "That was the one I met, that chased me halfway across Oregon." Alice gasped, her face going blank again. The rest of us froze. We knew that Irina, like me, had had a rebellious period when she drank from humans.

Bella curled up in a ball, lost in her memories. "She almost got to me." she whispered, shuddering. "But there was another man, a homeless man, that actually sacrificed his own life so that I could run. Apparently, Irina was very thirsty when she actually caught up to me. When the man tried to block her path, she just took him. I managed to jump—literally jump—onto a train car. Injured myself, but managed to do it and get away." I stared at her, with the rest of my family.

Rosalie was speaking to me in my head. "Edward, thank heaven you saved this girl! How could I have thought that she could hurt us before? She's been through more that I have!" Rose was on her caring side today. A very rare sight.

"Bella, can I look at your ankle?" Carlisle asked, and Bella nodded. I moved off the couch, and Carlisle instructed her to lay straight on the couch. She obeyed and he checked her ankle, finding that it was just a fracture, like I had said. He sent Alice to get his bag, and she reappeared with it in seconds. Carlisle wrapped her, making sure it was secure and tight. If she was careful, she wouldn't need anything else.

**BPOV**

Why did I trust these people so much? I guess it was just the air they had about them that said that they were kind. I had told them most of my story, and shocked them all. I really hadn't wanted to tell them that their friend had hunted me, almost killed me, but when I saw the demon's face again, I couldn't stop myself from saying it. They only difference to the Irina I had met and the Irina in the picture was that the Irina in the picture didn't have a vicious look on her face, and her eyes were gold. Otherwise, they were the same person, the same demon that had taken another life. After I had jumped onto the train, I had prayed that the man's soul made it to Heaven, no matter his sins. To throw yourself in front of a vicious creature to save a girl that no one loved was, in my eyes, enough to redeem any earthly sin.

I thought about this while Carlisle worked on my ankle. But, my thinking process became fuzzy, and I fought to keep my eyelids open. I heard Edward speak to me. "You need to sleep." he said, and I felt two cold arms pick me up and carry me.

When I felt a soft bed beneath me, I had about ten seconds to wonder what or whose room I was in before I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**EPOV**

I set Bella on my bed, then sat lightly on the edge and watched her. Something inside me had been instantly attracted to her, and as I watched her sleep, I felt that attraction strengthen. I just watched her, and for a few hours, that was all that I did.

Sometime near midnight, Bella started to stir. Worried that she was going to wake up, I moved closer to her. When I saw that she was still asleep, I calmed down, but then she began to mumble. She sounded scared, and it suddenly dawned on me that I couldn't read her mind. I hadn't really tried to since finding her, but as she seemed to be having a nightmare, I wanted badly to see what was scaring her in her sleep.

"No!" she cried, quite loudly; it hurt my ears and brought the family running. At the door, I stopped them. "Shhh! She's asleep, just having a nightmare. She needs sleep, and I don't want to wake her. If she wakes up on her own, you'll know." I said quickly, watching her over my shoulder. The family dispersed, except for Alice.

"Edward, do you love her?" she asked quietly. "Alice! What?" I asked, shocked. "Edward, do you love her?" she asked again. "I-I'm not sure." I whispered. "I feel a bond to her, but I'm not sure how she feels…." I could never lie to Alice. There was something about her that made you instantly trust her. And the little pixie was my sister in the ways that count. She only asked because she cared. "It's okay, Edward." she hugged me, seeing my sadness and confusion. "Everything will turn out fine." She disappeared, and I returned to Bella's side, closing the door securely.

She started mumbling again, but this time, it wasn't in fear, but pleading. "Don't hurt him, please…." I wondered desperately who she was talking about. "I'll come…don't hurt him…." The pit of my stomach seemed hollow. She loved someone, I just wasn't sure who. She quieted for a moment, then turned over in her sleep.

"Edward." she breathed, a loving tone in her voice. My heart soared. She said my name again, and the urge to touch her was irresistible. I reached out and stroked her arm softly. She didn't wake, but she squirmed closer to my arm.

Could this angel really love me? Could someone so pure and innocent really love a soulless monster? I wondered all night until the muted light of dawn lighted the window of my room. I looked at the clock and saw that it was six in the morning. I decided to skip school and stay here with Bella.

She started to stir. So that I didn't scare her by being so close, I stood and waited for her to wake up. She opened her beautiful brown eyes and looked at me for a moment. I smiled, and her heart sped up. I laughed lightly, and held out my hand to help her up.

"Alice will probably have clothes for you." I said, helping her stand and steady herself just as Alice burst through the door excitedly. Bella laughed, and I loved the sound as soon as I heard it. "Well, I can already guess that Alice is very bubbly." she chuckled.

"Wait till she takes you shopping, Bella!" Jasper call from the stairs. "Oh, no!" Bella cried. "I take it you don't like to shop?" Alice pouted. "Nope. Been there, done that, never going back." Bella responded, shuddering. "One of the foster parents took me shopping at expensive malls every week and made me carry all her stuff. Ugh. I'll actually let you take me shopping though, Alice, if you promise me one thing; I carry only the stuff that is mine, and help you carry your things." Bella had done something only Jasper had done before; gotten Alice to agree to shopping limitations.

Alice nodded, and than took Bella's hand and dragged her out the bedroom door. "No offense, Bella, but your clothes look horrible." Alice said as she took Bella to her room and her closet. "I know that, Alice." I heard Bella reply. "Did you think that I liked the clothes I had to buy cheap with money I made singing on the streets?" I laughed; of course, Alice wouldn't think about someone not liking the clothes they wore. After all, why would they have bought them? But Bella was smart enough to put Alice in her place, and she was probably going to put us all in our place.

**BPOV**

Alice loved clothes, that much I could tell from one glance her closet. "So, you went out last night…where?" I asked as she handed me endless amounts of bags. "Um….I went to Seattle, hit every mall I could find open at that time and then I can't remember where I went." she said, her voice muffled because of the clothes surrounding her small frame.

"Go try something on—I've got everything that will go together in one bag." she instructed, and I made my way out of the closet to the bathroom with a randomly picked bag.

I took some skinny jeans out of the bag and put them on. They fit amazingly well, and looked nice. I picked through the shirts, trying to find one that wasn't too revealing. I finally did, and put it on. I walked out to see Alice standing and tapping her foot impatiently. I rolled my eyes and laughed, spinning around. "Can I do your hair?" she asked. "I had a vision that you refused to wear anything else, so I might as well…." she trailed off, giggling at me confused expression.

"I'll tell you as I do your hair." she said, steering me into the bathroom and sitting me down on the chair in front of the mirror. "Now, to explain." she said. "See, some vampires have different…powers, I guess. I can see the future, Edward can read minds, and Jasper can manipulate emotions." she explained, and I flushed, worrying about what Edward would have heard from my dreams last night. "Don't worry," Alice giggled, guessing my reason for embarrassment. "Edward can't read your mind." I breathed out.

"Why?" I asked. "We don't know. It might be that you have a unique mind, apart from both vampires and humans….Not there's something wrong with your mind." she assured me quickly, seeing the frightened look in eyes.

"There." Alice said triumphantly, and I looked in the mirror.

"Wow."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Okay, this is the first story I've posted, so if you don't like it, tell me so nicely or go argue with the mirror. Please review, it'd be nice to hear what you think. And don't worry; I'll post as I finish the chapters, and I won't demand an amount of reviews…I'm not psycho.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did, I wouldn't be here, on _Fan_fiction.**

**BPOV**

I looked amazing. Alice had simply put my hair into a ponytail, but left a few strands out, framing one side of my face. It was simple, and rather plain, but she made it look amazing. Along with the outfit I was wearing, I looked like one of the vampires surrounding me.

Alice squealed and shoved me out of the bathroom, bouncing along behind me. I laughed, and turned, putting my hands on her shoulders and holding her down. "Cool it." I laughed, and she grinned at me, and stopped jumping. "Nice one, Bella!" Jasper called.

"Thanks, Jasper!" I called back, though I knew I didn't need to yell. I was sure the whole house could hear me from here. I walked out of Alice's room and straight into Edward. "Oops." I said, blushing and looking down. I suddenly remembered my dream, and blushed deeper, my eyes focusing harder on the carpet.

Edward laughed, and pulled me into a brotherly, one armed hug. "It's okay." he said, and smiled at my red face. Emmett appeared out of thin air, and pulled me up into a bear hug. "Hey, sis!" he cried, and I squirmed and gasped. "Can't…breathe…. Emmett…please…put…me…down!" I managed to get out, and he set me down. "Sorry! Forgot that you need to breathe." I raised an eyebrow at him, and he chuckled. "Forgot, you didn't know that—we don't have a real need to breathe." I gasped, and he laughed again.

"Sheesh, don't scare her." Jasper said, appearing behind his brother. He smiled at me, and I returned it. I already felt like I had always belonged with this family. I noticed that Jasper kept his distance, and I immediately guessed why. "I'm guessing that you're newer to this?" I asked, and they looked at me, shocked. Jasper nodded, at ease. "You don't even know, do you? Edward didn't get a chance to tell you—your blood is more potent than most. I can stand it, if I feed more often, but I wouldn't want to hurt you." his smile turned sad at the end, and I accepted that.

"On a happier note," Alice said, back to her hopping self, "Carlisle and Esme decided that we should all go bowling!" her hopping increased, and I blanched. "Oh, no." I objected. "I'll hurt myself, or someone else." They all thought about it, but before anyone could agree with me, Alice spoke. "No! We're going! I can see that everything will be fine, Bella. Besides, would any of us let you hurt yourself?" I thought about it, and nodded reluctantly. "But the first time that my ball goes out of the lane that we're on, someone is taking me home." I looked right at Alice, and she nodded happily.

"You should know, nothing will put a damper on her spirits. Ever." Emmett warned, and I grinned. "And you thought I didn't notice?" I asked, and he laughed. "I like you, Bella. You actually have a sense of humor, unlike my siblings here." he said, and crushed me in a one armed hug. I laughed, and caught up to Alice.

"Is there a particular reason for this trip? Or did Carlisle and Esme randomly decide it was a good idea?" I asked. "I don't know. But I still think it'll be fun!" she replied, bouncing toward the door. I rolled my eyes and followed her to the garage. As soon as I saw their cars, though, I stopped in my tracks.

"Bella? Hello?" Alice asked. "Whoa. And how do you guys _afford _these?" I asked, and they all laughed as Alice pulled me into her car—a Porsche. "A lot of years of living, and you kinda just rake up unneeded money." she explained, pushing me into the passenger side and flashing into the driver's seat. "Okay." I muttered.

It took us about half an hour to get to a bowling alley—in Seattle, I might add. Alice's driving was absolutely terrifying. I assumed hat the rest were going even faster, because they were all there by the time we pulled in.

"God." I muttered. "Could you drive any _faster_?" I asked, and Alice laughed, tugging me along into the bowling alley. The others must have heard me, or Edward had heard it in Alice's head and told the other's because they were all laughing when we got to them.

I stuck my tongue out at them rather childishly, which just made them laugh harder. "Shut up." I muttered. "Shut don't go up." Emmett said, laughing even harder at my expression. Rosalie, seeing my livid expression in reaction, hit him in the back of the head. "Shut your hole before I make you shut it." she ordered, and he immediately quieted. I giggled under my breath at his frightened puppy face.

"Come on!" Alice cried, grabbing the shoes that she'd gotten for me and handing them to me. We walked down the an alley and I put the slippery shoes on my feet. With a fractured ankle, I knew that this probably wasn't such a good idea, but what was I to do? I was stuck with a group of vampires that seemed set on doing something fun.

"I'll go first." Emmett declared, and grabbed a ball. I knew without question that he would get a strike—as would the rest. I was already slightly red when it was my turn. I hoped that I wouldn't make a complete fool of myself. "You can do it, Bella!" Alice cried, and I rolled my eyes at her excitement. After I let go of the ball, I closed my eyes, and opened them again. Lord. I still had to see if I could get a spare. "On, no." I muttered, earning a laugh from one of the Cullens.

I let the ball go, and watched it roll down the slick alley and tap one of the six pins that were still up. The pins didn't move. I groaned, then turned and glared at Emmett, who looked ready to burst with laughter. "Go ahead and laugh Emmett. Before you become the first to ever explode from holding in to much air." I rolled my eyes, and his loud laughter boomed, scaring some people nearby.

I watched the Cullens bowl, and prayed that I wouldn't hurt someone every time it was my turn. I got through a few turns with good luck, but that was short lived. I tried to gently roll the ball like I had, but my arm twisted the wrong way, and the ball flew across two alleys.

"Shit!" I screamed, and turned toward the Cullens. "Who wants to go back home with me? If no one does, I'll walk, but I'm offering." I growled, trying to ignore Emmett. "I'll take you." Edward said, smiling a little. "Whatever." I said, but inside my mind was racing. Thank God he couldn't read my mind.

I took of the bowling shoes, replaced them with my own sneakers, and walked out of the bowling alley with Edward. I was about to open the passenger door by myself, but Edward beat me to it, being the perfect gentleman. I blushed slightly, and got the car, barley blinking before Edward had my door shut and was in his own seat, the key in the ignition.

I gasped. "Sorry," he apologized. "No, it just shocked me. By the way, please tell me that you can drive slower than Alice." I begged, and he grimaced. "I can, I just don't like it very much. Put your seatbelt on." I obeyed, a little scared of what speed he would be going. Alice had gone a good 120 mph, but I had seen cars like Edward's—they could go much faster.

He must have seen the fear in my eyes, because we were still only going 80 mph when we hit the highway. I could see the strain on his face. "Hell, Edward, if it bothers you that much, go faster." I rolled my eyes.

"Thank you." he said, a pushed down on the gas, and in half a second, we were at 160 mph. For some reason, I was more comfortable with his driving than I was with Alice's. I knew that reason, but I didn't want to think about that right now.

"So," Edward started, turning my attention to him. "Do you have any interests?" I shrugged. "Not really; I _did _live on the streets. I like music and drawing, but thats about it. When I could get my hands on one, I would read almost any book, but nothing otherwise." I answered. "Hmmm. What music do you like?" he asked. "I'll listen to anything but rap. My favorites are probably rock and alternative as far as genres go, but my favorite bands would have to be Linkin Park and Billy Talent." I said, shrugging again. "I like those two. Have you heard of Simple Plan?" he asked. "I like those guys. Why?" I replied with a question. "I have almost all their CDs. By the way, if you want to, you can use my CDs. Alice got you something to use them with, but I'm not allowed to say what it is—the little pixie would kill me—but I am allowed to offer."

"Okay." I said, a little hesitantly. "It's in your room." Edward grinned, and I got out of the car carefully and started toward the house, with him behind me. I walked up the stairs while he stopped in the living room and turned on the TV.

I reached my room and opened up the door, to find Alice's gift lying on my bed.

"Alice!" I screamed.

Okay, don't hate me, please. I had writer's block, and my computer hates me. This would have been longer if it weren't for the fact that I was fifteen pages in and the computer shut down on me. I gave up after that and cut it short so that I wouldn't give myself a massive headache.

P.S. I'm not going to beg for reviews, but I need feedback. I don't care if you hate it, just tell me kindly, and I don't care if you simply leave a 'nice' or 'good job' or, if in the case that you don't like it, 'i don't like it.' PLEASE.


	3. Poll AN

This isn't a chapter, sorry!

Okay. I have a poll going on my profile. It's to decide which story I am going to focus on. If you want me to finish one in particular, go vote. Which ever one gets the most votes, I will continue and finish before I work on the others. When that one is finished, I will put another poll up to decided the next that I work on, and so on.


End file.
